Games Like Balatro, Sorted by the Hours You Really Have
Games like Balatro hide very different finish lines. One takes about 3.5 weeks at 5 hours a week; here is how the rest compare.
Table of Contents
🎟️ How we got it: We did not buy, play or receive review copies of any game here. The verdict rests on store listings and community data, and nothing about access shaped it.
The short answer: which Balatro-like fits your week
If Balatro left you wanting more without another 250 hours, start here.
⚖️ The Verdict: Start with Vampire Crawlers. Community-submitted HowLongToBeat estimates put it at about 17.5 hours to beat, roughly 3.5 weeks at 5 hours a week. Luck Be a Landlord is the closest loop, but its first win is about 3 hours and its tail runs to about 151, so choose your stopping point first.
The one to finish
At five hours a week, Vampire Crawlers is done in about 3.5 weeks, and if it is already unplayed in your library, open it first.
The closest loop
Pick Luck Be a Landlord instead only if the loop matters more than the finish line and you will stop at the first win.
How long does Balatro actually take to beat?
⏱️ Time Check: Community-submitted HowLongToBeat estimates, shown on Deku Deals on 12 October 2026, put Balatro at about 7.5 hours for a first win and about 250 for everything. Both are self-reported and drift as players add times.
First win versus everything
Balatro is a poker-inspired roguelike from LocalThunk, published by Playstack, where a run is a string of antes and blinds. Divide everything by the first win and you get the unlock tail: about 33 times.
Why the number misleads at 5 hours a week
That is about 1.5 weeks to win and 50 to finish it all, so people call Balatro short or endless and both are right. Our guide to how accurate HowLongToBeat is explains how to read these figures.
Games like Balatro by hours to finish
Ranked by hours to a first win, this is what each pick asks of a five-hours-a-week player. It applies the method from our guide to games sorted by hours to finish.
| Game (Steam price) | Hours: win / everything | Tail | Weeks at 5 h: win / everything | Cost per hour: win / everything |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luck Be a Landlord ($9.99) | 3 / 151 | 50Ă— | 0.6 / 30 | $3.33 / $0.07 |
| Peglin ($19.99) | 4.5 / 66 | 15Ă— | 0.9 / 13 | $4.44 / $0.30 |
| Balatro ($14.99) | 7.5 / 250.5 | 33Ă— | 1.5 / 50 | $2.00 / $0.06 |
| Slay the Spire ($24.99) | 12.5 / 191.5 | 15Ă— | 2.5 / 38 | $2.00 / $0.13 |
| Vampire Crawlers ($9.99) | 17.5 / 25.5 | 1.5Ă— | 3.5 / 5.1 | $0.57 / $0.39 |
| Dicey Dungeons ($14.99) | 27 / 57.5 | 2.1Ă— | 5.4 / 11.5 | $0.56 / $0.26 |
Hours: community-submitted HowLongToBeat estimates (main story and completionist), shown on Deku Deals, 12 October 2026; self-reported, so treat them as ranges. Prices: Steam list prices, same date. Tail, weeks and cost per hour: our arithmetic. None of these games was played by our team.
🔄 Last Verified: 12 October 2026 — prices and sales change often; check the storefront before you buy.
Weeks at 5 hours a week
Read the second number as a ceiling, not a target. Only Vampire Crawlers and Dicey Dungeons have tails of about 2 times or less, so those are the two you can realistically finish.
Cost per hour at Steam list price
To a first win, Dicey Dungeons and Vampire Crawlers are near-tied at about $0.56 and $0.57 an hour. The rest cost $2 or more an hour to a first win, and under $0.50 an hour over their full length.
Which game is closest to Balatro?
Luck Be a Landlord is the closest loop, and Vampire Crawlers is the closest card-game structure with a finish line.
Luck Be a Landlord: the closest loop
Steam describes it as a roguelike deckbuilder about using a slot machine to earn rent money. Like Balatro, it is run-based, and it keeps going long after the first win. Best for the Balatro feel; skip it if you want a finish line.
Vampire Crawlers: the one you can finish
Steam calls it a turbo-charged, turn-based roguelite deckbuilder from the creators of Vampire Survivors. It has the smallest gap between a first win and everything of any pick here.
When you want something different
Peglin is a pachinko roguelike, Slay the Spire is the classic deckbuilder, and Dicey Dungeons swaps cards for dice. We judge all of these on store descriptions and community data, not play.
Buy now, wait for a sale, or use Game Pass?
If you already pay for Game Pass, you may not need to buy.
What each costs at list price
Steam lists Vampire Crawlers at $9.99 and Balatro at $14.99, and on 12 October it showed both at 20% off. Our rule of thumb: buy at list price when a first win costs under $1 an hour; otherwise wait for a sale.
đź’° Value Math: At $9.99 and about 17.5 community-estimated hours to a first win, Vampire Crawlers costs about $0.57 an hour. Our cost-per-hour guide shows how to run your own.
Game Pass and platforms
Xbox’s listings show Balatro included with Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass and Ultimate, and Vampire Crawlers with Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Don’t subscribe for one $9.99 game.
🔄 Last Verified: 12 October 2026 — prices, sales and catalogues rotate; check the storefront or your plan before you plan around either.
Is Balatro gambling? Age ratings for these picks
The ESRB rates Balatro Everyone 10+ with a Gambling Themes descriptor, and says the game does not involve making wagers.
What the ratings say
In Europe, PEGI’s Complaints Board amended Balatro and Luck Be a Landlord to PEGI 12, after an earlier 18 for Balatro was appealed, as TechRadar reported. Deku Deals lists Luck Be a Landlord as Everyone 10+, and Xbox’s listing gives Vampire Crawlers Teen for violence and blood.
What to check yourself
Ratings are set per game, region and platform, and they have changed before. Check the ESRB or PEGI entry for your platform yourself; this is general information, not parenting advice.
How to fit a Balatro-like into a packed backlog
Treat the first win as the finish line.
Set a stopping point before you start
If a game’s full length is 33 times its first win, as Balatro’s is, stopping there is a good result, not a failure. Our guide on whether it is okay to quit a game has a test for the call.
If you only have a weekend
Ten hours across two days covers the first win of Luck Be a Landlord, Peglin or Balatro, per the community estimates above, but not Vampire Crawlers.
âś… Do This: Before you start, write down the hour at which you will stop.
Questions about games like Balatro
1. How long does it take to beat Balatro?
Community-submitted HowLongToBeat estimates put Balatro at about 7.5 hours for a first win and about 250 hours for everything.
2. What is the best game like Balatro?
Vampire Crawlers is the best game like Balatro to finish; Luck Be a Landlord is the closest loop but runs far longer.
3. What is the closest game to Balatro?
Luck Be a Landlord, which Steam calls a roguelike deckbuilder about using a slot machine to earn rent money, is the closest loop.
4. Is Vampire Crawlers like Balatro?
Both are roguelike deckbuilders on Steam, but Vampire Crawlers is turn-based and runs about 17.5 community-estimated hours to beat.
5. Is Luck Be a Landlord like Balatro?
Yes, it is the closest loop, but community estimates put it near 3 hours to a first win and 151 for everything.
6. Is Balatro on Game Pass?
Xbox’s listing showed Balatro included with Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass and Ultimate on 12 October 2026; catalogues rotate, so check first.
7. Which game like Balatro costs least per hour?
To a first win, Dicey Dungeons and Vampire Crawlers are near-tied at about $0.56 and $0.57 an hour at Steam list price.
8. Is Balatro gambling?
The ESRB rates Balatro Everyone 10+ with a Gambling Themes descriptor and says it does not involve making wagers. Check the ESRB and PEGI entries for your platform yourself.
9. How many weeks does a game like Balatro take at 5 hours a week?
At five hours a week, Vampire Crawlers takes about 3.5 weeks to beat on community estimates, and Luck Be a Landlord about 0.6.
10. Should I stop after my first win?
Yes, when the tail is long: Balatro’s full length is about 33 times its first win, so stopping there is a good result.
Pick one and set a stopping point
Start with Vampire Crawlers if you want a finish line, and Luck Be a Landlord if you want the closest loop and will stop at the first win. Decide the hour you will stop before you begin, and the tail stops being a problem. One game, one stopping point, this week.
